Sad news leading to better focus?

I missed the annual Thanksgiving Mass at our parish. For several years parishioners have brought wine and bread for a special blessing. I like it because it helps, at least for a moment, to give Thanksgiving more meaning for me than gluttony and a four day weekend.

I had intended to make it up with a few additional minutes of prayer each day, but must admit that went out the window as well. On Sunday, my disabled son and I arrived for the 7:30 Mass with just moments to spare so even my regular few moments of devotion were missed.

At the end of the Mass we had, as we always do, a few moments of announcements. What made this week a little different was a personal announcement from our pastor. Although most 'regulars' were aware that he had been having some health issues, they are apparently more severe than most of us (or at least I) realized. He told us that he had met with our bishop and, at his urging, would be taking a long medical leave of absence.

Sadly, among my first thoughts were 'what will happen to us?' While many parishes have no pastor we have been blessed with a very active one. Ashamed, my thoughts turned next to Thanksgiving, and how I had been reminded of how much I, personally, and we, the parish, had to be thankful for. Last, my thoughts turned to our pastor and his needs.

In retrospect, these thoughts show how far I still have to go as a Christian, but their order also seems to mirror God's gradual raising of the bar for us. I once heard a homily in which the priest proposed that God may have to teach us like we teach our own children. That is, we must crawl before we can walk. The example he gave was 'she hits him, he kills her in retaliation'. In the Old Testament, God raised the bar, limiting us to an 'eye for an eye'. Once we had accepted that concept, Jesus raised the bar further, both in words and in actions; love for hate, service over self.

My thinking seemed to follow a similar path. What about me? What about us? Then, thank you God for all you have given me. Finally, should I not try to help and serve one who has been so committed to serving others? In reading the Gospels, the bar seems to go even higher, I should be willing to serve the weakest among us, regardless of how I perceive their past actions.

Perhaps the simplest equation for our Faith can be found in Luke 10, where Jesus accepts the answer that salvation lies in loving God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. Considering my reaction on Sunday, it occurs to me that Thanksgiving, at least in spirit, can be an attempt to honor the first part of that equation. But if I am to honor both parts, I cannot simply be thankful, I must also answer the call to serve. So I am going to attempt to remember my pastor and his family in my daily prayers and try to do more to serve my parish. I know, it isn't much, but baby steps are an incremental move towards walking!